Fans at a previous Taylor Party light up the room with their phones. Credit: Courtesy of Steve Soboslai

Founded in Pittsburgh, the Taylor Party — an event that travels across the country and allows Taylor Swift fans to come together and enjoy songs from her discography — will be held at Newport Music Hall Oct. 14 for its third time in Columbus.

The Taylor Party has toured in other cities nationwide like Los Angeles, New Orleans and Orlando, Florida, alongside Columbus. With doors opening at 8 p.m. and music starting at 9 p.m., the 18 years-and-up show will be a chance for Taylor Swift fans in the Columbus area to enjoy a night out while listening to some of their favorite songs.

Marissa McClellan, marketing director for the Columbus and Cincinnati as well as Newport, Kentucky, regions for PromoWest, said PromoWest hopes people come to the event to enjoy the music they came to hear.

“We haven’t really done many of these types of things, so it is kind of newer territory for us,” McClellan said. “I just hope everybody comes and has a good time and listens to all the music that they know and they love already.”

Brian Howe, co-founder and one of the DJs for the Taylor Party, said when creating this organization, he wanted it to be a space where people can have a fun night while being in a safe environment.

“We were really just trying to find a place for people that like Taylor and Taylor-adjacent music, like, a place for them to feel safe and comfortable to go out and party with each other,” Howe said. “A lot of times, you go out dancing, and it’s not always the healthiest environment, and we were hoping to kind of do something that would kind of keep some toxic elements out by making it a fan-driven event.”

Whether as artists, promoters or show creators, Howe said his team has been working in the music scene for a long time and created the Taylor Party less than a year ago with its first event in December 2021.

“We had just kind of planned to do a few smaller nights here,” Howe said. “But thankfully, because of contacts that we had in some other cities, we were able to try it in some other places and it just like, before we knew it, you know, we’re doing events every other weekend all over the place.”

Howe said the party has come to Columbus twice before, both times being held at Skully’s Music-Diner, and the Columbus crowds are energetic and engaged.

“The crowds are wild in Columbus,” Howe said. “I remember the last time that I did Skully’s, like, the whole stage got filled with people, and it was just craziness.”

As one of the DJs for the Taylor Party, Howe said the music for the night is strictly Taylor Swift and the types of songs that he plays depends on the crowd.

“Every city is surprisingly different in terms of what era of Taylor they like,” Howe said. “Usually at the start, it’s like, okay, I have the same three or four opening songs, and I usually try to use those to dictate where the room’s gonna go. I use that to kind of feel out what people are into.”

Howe said for this string of shows, it is going to be focused a little bit more on Taylor Swift’s “Red” album because of its 10-year anniversary Oct. 22.

“We’re gonna lean pretty hard on the ‘Red’ stuff,” Howe said. “I’ll probably play some more deep cuts from that record than I normally would.”

Howe said the songs he played were pretty standard in past Columbus shows, and no matter what song he played, the crowd was playing an active role in keeping the night going.

“This — from memory — seems like it was a lot more general,” Howe said. “I just remember it being pretty, like, pretty active regardless of what was happening. I don’t remember playing a lot of slower stuff there.”

Howe said although these events are considered a “dance party,” it is still important to play some of the slow songs Swift has, so he makes sure he is creating a healthy space for everyone.

“Sometimes it’s good to play slower songs just so people take a break whether they realize they need it or not,” Howe said. “I like to push it, I like to have a lot of fun stuff back to back to back but again, creating a healthy, comfortable environment is also very much a priority.”

Howe said he wants to cater to those who are still figuring out who they are and what they want to do in life, allowing them to feel nostalgic with the music they grew up with.

“You know, they can kind of feel young again maybe for a night, while at the same time hopefully having a good experience as an adult which could be hard to do,” Howe said.

Howe said growing up listening to Taylor Swift, having a sense of nostalgia in the room and relating with others to her songs makes the experience special.

“If you listen to her music from a human perspective, it is legitimately just somebody growing up, and it’s cool to put that into a live space with a bunch of people that connect with that music,” Howe said,

McClellan said the tickets for the event are selling fast, as there are typically over 700 people in attendance at the event.

General admission tickets can be purchased on PromoWest’s website for $25, as well as quick pass tickets.